Megyn Kelly planned to antagonize Donald Trump. All during the week before the debate she was telling us how they were plotting about the questions. Her attack was deliberative yet the candidates had to be spontaneous. This was attack journalism big time and it was carried out with malice and forethought by FOX so FOX is in trouble.
The second shoe that’s going to fall is the unfairness of FOX. They have already lost viewers who don’t like the unfairness. Megyn Kelly’s looks only get her so far. Her ambush is only interesting for a short time. There are rules and FOX broke them. Kelly broke them. Instead of looking for the achievements of the candidates they went purposely negative. Instead of an actual debate they engaged in a two hour game of gotcha and they didn’t help their image of being fair and balanced because they were neither fair not balanced.
Why did the candidates have to defend their records? Why weren’t they able to provide the positive elements of their candidacies? they had to sneak their positives in during their defense of some part of their past. Megyn Kelly was far worse than Candy Crowley and Crowley would have been against the candidates because they are Republicans. Kelly was against the candidates because she wanted the Left to see her as being mean and going on the attack. Kelly was flawless when she put false words into Trumps mouth about calling women “fat”. He never called women fat. He called Rosie O’Donnell fat because she is. He did that after being attacked by O’Donnell in 2006.
O’Donnell, who was a co-host of “The View” at the time, criticized Trumps decision to allow Miss USA, Tara Conner to remain on the show. O’Donnell said: she doesn’t “enjoy” Trump and said he went bankrupt — a claim Trump continues to deny, most recently at Thursday’s GOP debate.
She added that Trump is “not a self-made man” but a “snake-oil salesman on Little House On The Prairie,” and she proceeded to slam his multiple marriages: “[He] left the first wife — had an affair. [He] had kids both times, but he’s the moral compass for 20-year-olds in America. Donald, sit and spin, my friend.”
Why would Donald Trump have to keep his mouth shut about Rosie when Rosie doesn’t have to zip her’s about Trump?
Why did FOX and Kelly go after Trump so unfairly? Media Matters’ Hannah Groch-Begley has a theory, that Fox wanted to use its moment in the spotlight to look like a legitimate journalism outfit, willing to hold its own side’s feet to the fire at a time they knew a lot of people unfamiliar with its illegitimate tactics would be watching. While Kelly’s question for Trump garners exactly the attention she undoubtedly aimed for, how many (other than Media Matters and I) are asking why Kelly waited until then? Fox gave Trump nearly five hours of airtime in the last three months, including time on on The Kelly File.
Whatever motivated Fox’s turnaround at the debate, it was almost surely not principled journalism.
FOX got more than they bargained for and is hemorrhaging viewers because of their wrong guess.
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